Ottawa, ON – Just one week before the UN climate conference in Copenhagen, a water conference taking place in Ottawa will highlight the need for better policies to protect water in Canada and around the world. Hundreds of participants from across Canada and allies from around the world will converge in Ottawa at the Blue Summit from November 27-29 for a weekend of music, engaging speakers, protest, and building a vision for the future. On the 10-year anniversary of the Water Watch Coalition, and in the vacuum of federal leadership, the Blue Summit will bring together the communities that are taking action to protect public water.
The conference will highlight the need to protect water resources and services in Canada from privatization, pollution, underfunding and overuse. Organizers also hope to shine a spotlight on Canada’s obstruction at the international level as it continues to sabotage the interrelated efforts at the United Nations to recognize water as a human right, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and a new binding agreement at the upcoming UN climate talks in Copenhagen.
The Blue Summit will take place at the Marriott Hotel, 100 Kent Street, Ottawa.
Prince Tribute Band – Party Like Its 1999!
- When: Friday, November 27, doors open at 7 p.m. and show starts at 8 p.m.
- Where: Victoria Ballroom, Marriott Hotel
- Celebration and dance, with special performances by Chris Rouse and Joni NehRita, slam poetry by Ritallin, and remarks from Maude Barlow and Paul Moist. Hosted by co-MCs Ginette Gratton, host, Pour tout l’amour du monde, TVRogers; and Adrian Harewood, co-host, CBC News: Ottawa.
Climate justice and the right to public water: Copenhagen and beyond
- When: Saturday November 28, 12:30 p.m.
- March: 12:30 p.m., meet behind the Marriott at the corner of Sparks St. and Kent St.
- Rally: 12:45 p.m., Parliament Hill
Keynote speeches, plenaries, and workshops:
- When: November 28 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., November 29 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Themes include: Reality Check! The State of Canada’s Water; Watch Out! Organizing to Win; and The Next 10 Years.
- Featured speakers at Blue Summit events include: Maude Barlow; Paul Moist; Sue Chiblow, Environment Coordinator, Chiefs of Ontario; Jim Olson, Author and Environmental Attorney with Olson, Bzdok & Howard, Michigan, USA; Al-Hassan Adam, Coordinator, Africa Water Network; Shannon Biggs, Rights Based Campaigner, Global Exchange; Darlene Sanderson, Secretariat, Indigenous World Forum on Water and Peace; and Martine Ouellet, Vice-President, Eau Secours.
The conference is organized by the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Full details about the Blue Summit are available at: http://www.canadians.org/bluesummit
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For more information or to arrange interviews with any of the Blue Summit’s featured speakers:
- Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians: 613-795-8685
- CUPE National Media Relations: 613-818-0067